Details
Date: September 1, 2010
Time: 11 a.m. New Member Orientation
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. Luncheon
Location: Briar Club
Contact: Paula Ruth, APR, 281-870-1717, for event information
and sponsorship opportunities
Free ‘September Sipper’ Mixer
Start celebrating Labor Day weekend a little early with your PR pals Sept. 2 at PRSA Houston’s fun, free September Sipper event.
This mixer is generously provided by Flora & Muse Bistro and Bar, who will welcome guests with light bites, a complimentary first beverage and door prizes.
Flora & Muse is a new bar/lounge/café concept with a whimsical, neo-Victorian setting encompassing numerous indoor and alfresco seating vignettes. Opening mid-August, PRSA Houston members will be among the first Houstonians to experience this soon-to-be Houston hotspot.
Details
Date: September 2, 2010
Time: 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.
Location: Flora & Muse
(Town & Country CITYCENTRE) Directions
Judges Needed for PRSA Cincinnati Event
We are looking for PRSA Houston members, especially Accredited members, to volunteer to judge PRSA Cincinnati’s Excalibur Award entries.
We were thankful to have PRSA Cincinnati help judge our Excalibur Awards this year. Now, it’s our turn to return the favor.
Judging will take place Saturday, September 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at FKM near the Galleria. (Directions) Breakfast and lunch will be provided.
This volunteer effort is a great opportunity to network with other PRSA Houston members as well as help another PRSA chapter in-need.
Please submit your interest by Wednesday, Sept. 22.
Contact: Ed Davis
PR Day Keynote Speakers Announced
PRSA Houston has confirmed two of the PR and communications industry’s finest to headline its annual PR Day event Nov. 30 at the Hyatt Regency Downtown.
Becca Cason Thrash, a Houston PR pioneer, philanthropist and co-founder of Paper City magazine, will be this year’s Breakfast Keynote speaker. (Photo credit: Dave Rossman, Houston Chronicle)
Paul Taaffe, global CEO and Chairman of Hill & Knowlton, will be the Lunch Keynote speaker.
Read more about Thrash and Taaffe on the PR Day page.
Attendees of this year’s PR Day event, themed: PRSA: Promoting Relationships, Surviving Adversity, will be able to gain great insight into communications and public relations strategies from these two dynamic industry 
professionals. Both keynotes will be speaking to this year’s theme but will bring different perspectives based on their unique knowledge and expertise within the industry.
PR Day is one of Houston’s premiere annual professional development events, offering something for everyone - whether you’re just starting out or you’ve got your fair share of war stories to tell. It's a great time to get involved in PRSA Houston to build relationships crucial to your career.
Special thanks go out to our early commitment sponsors:
Conference Kit - CenterPoint Energy
Lunch Keynote - Hill and Knowlton
Swag Bag - Business Wire
Scholarship - Shell, Disc, Inc.
Exhibitor - PR Newswire, Customer Research International, VMS, Texas Press Clippings
Lagniappe - Whitney Bank, Wristbands.net and Eyelit Designs
We also appreciate our in-kind sponsors Graphique, Flowers by Nino, Perfect Touch Linens, DiscPro Printing & Graphics and Encore Printstore.
Several PR Day sponsorships are still available, including the Breakfast Keynote Sponsor! Download our Sponsorship Guide for details, and visit the PR Day page for complete event information.
Interested in helping plan this year’s PR Day? Join the 2010 Planning Committee!
Contacts: PR Day Chair Lady Oliver, 832-866-6608
Communications Chairs - promotions, media
Kristi Krupala: (713) 792-2096; kkrupala@mdanderson.org
Kim Miller: kmiller@graphique.com
Sponsorship Chairs - sponsorships, vendor exhibits, donations
Osjetta Gascey: ocgascey@texaschildrens.org
Angela Randolph: angela.randolph@gmail.com
Programming Chair - speakers, program
Cynthia Miller: (225) 610-0592; cynthia.miller@hillandknowlton.com
Venue Logistics - exhibits, logistics, speaker travel
Oct. 6: How PR-savvy CEO is Leading HAR
PRSA Houston welcomes one of Houston’s most PR-savvy chief executives to its Oct. 6 luncheon. Bob Hale, chief executive officer for Houston Association of Realtors (HAR), will address selling real estate and realtors through effective communication.
Despite a recession partially driven by a national real-estate bust, a month doesn’t pass without HAR making headlines with its home sales reports.
Hale not only champions HAR’s benefits to association members, he supports robust communications with consumers to help them understand the importance of including realtors in their real-estate transactions. Routinely recognized by trade media as one of America’s most influential people in real estate, Hale also received the 2010 Communication Leadership Award from IABC Houston.
Hale’s enthusiastic belief in all types of traditional and social media helps drive a million unique visitors a month to HAR.com and makes HAR the largest organization of its type in the nation.
Register now
Details
Date: October 6, 2010
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Location: Briar Club
Contact: Paula Ruth, APR, 281-870-1717, for event information
and sponsorship opportunities
Thanks to our October Luncheon sponsor
Nov. 3: UH's Road to Tier One: What's Helping Pave the Way?
Bring your friends and colleagues to hear the inside story about UH’s campaign to achieve Tier One status. University of Houston System chancellor and University of Houston (UH) president Renu Khator, Ph.D., will share these insights, as well as the importance of The Jack J. Valenti School of Communication and the growth of communications majors with Public Relations emphasis at UH.
Appointed in January 2008, Dr. Khator is the first Indian immigrant to head a comprehensive public research university in the United States. Under her leadership, the University of Houston has experienced record-breaking research funding and private support. In 2009, UH brought in $110 million in research awards and began construction on a 75-acre Energy Research Park, the Cougar football team ranked among the Top 25 and a pathway to Tier-One status was created by the state legislature and approved by Texas voters.
UH serves more than 61,000 students, has an annual budget that exceeds $1.25 billion and generates a $3 billion impact on the Houston area’s economy, annually.
PRSA Houston will generously donate all luncheon proceeds to the Public Relations Foundation of Houston (PRFH), whose mission is to enhance the quality of education by providing scholarships for students studying communications and/or public relations at local universities.
You can make an individual contribution to support the PRFH by making a donation at the luncheon with your check or credit card. Visit the PRFH site for more information.
Register today
Details
Date: November 3, 2010
Time: 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Location: Briar Club
Contact: Paula Ruth, APR, 281-870-1717, for event information
and sponsorship opportunities
Thanks to our November Luncheon sponsor
PRSA Houston Blog Bite
“While working in the mortgage industry during the now waning housing crisis, being informed is crucial to establishing and maintaining employee morale during these troubling times. It’s hard to put forth your best effort and focus on the job at hand when the possibility of unemployment and the terrors of job hunting loom over your head. Nothing is neutral; even to stay silent during periods of uncertainty sends a strong message to the workforce. I have no way of knowing whether our CEO is familiar with Grossman or the ideas he shared, but my company’s leader seems to understand how powerful the messages he sends to his employees can be.” Read more on PRSA Houston’s Blog site
An excerpt from a the blog entry “Why Leaders Can’t NOT Communicate – Even as a Mortgage Company CEO” by Jason Saenz, public relations writer/editor, Cornerstone Mortgage Company, about what he learned from PRSA Houston’s July luncheon.
Passionate About PR? Bloggers Wanted
Have an opinion on a PR issue you want to share? Share your viewpoint with hundreds of PR professionals in the Houston area, and blog for PRSA Houston. Become a trusted resource on some of the great PR issues of our time — from BP to teabaggers and beyond. PRSA provides the forum. You provide the thought leadership. Your followers provide the dialogue.
Welcome to Our New Members (July 27-Aug. 23, 2010)
Jill Sinden
Michella Cross
Carrie Stallwitz, Witz! PR (reinstated)
Adelina Espat, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Laura Nathan-Garner, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Tina Jaekel, DiCentral
Gretchen Krueger, Krueger& Public Relations
Sarah Newson, MD Anderson Cancer Center (reinstated)
Thank You to Our Renewing Members
(July 26-Aug. 23, 2010)
Kimberly Abey, Spotlight Creative LLC
Frank Agraz
Karen Barbier, University of Houston-Clear Lake
Donna Boyer, Marathon Oil Company
Susan Burnell, APR, Imagination Inc.
Dagmar Climo, PCCA
Ed Davis, III, PRSA Houston Board member, United Way of Greater Houston
Tanya Doescher
Osjetta Gascey-Morris, Texas Children’s Health Plan
Wendy Gottsegen, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Elizabeth Grimm, APR, Liz Grimm Public Relations
Jessie Haynes, APR, Beaumont Independent School District
L.K. Herlong
Rose Maltby, Parker Drilling Company
Michelle McCormick, PRWSA Houston President-Elect, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP
Celia Morales, Houston Image Group
Susan Richardson, Southwestern Energy
Kari Short, APR, Short Communications
Jennifer Silva, Chevron
Tricia Singer, APR, Shell
Gale Smith, The Methodist Hospital System
Jennifer Snyder, Harris County Medical Society
Lindsey Threlkeld, EnerVest, Ltd
Shauna Tysor, Houston Ballet
Carol Ward, APR, Carol Ward Public Relations
Ronda Wendler, Texas Medical Center News
Luncheon Sponsorships Offer Good Marketing Value
Are you a company looking for exposure to more than 2,000 communications professionals? PRSA Houston has monthly luncheon sponsorship opportunities available.
Thanks to MedTouch for sponsoring out August luncheon, featuring UTMB director of media relations Raul Reyes. Other sponsorships are available. Luncheon sponsors get the following benefits for $500:
- mention in promotional e-mail sent to database of 2000-plus subscribers
- mention and text link in ePRo, the PRSA Houston newsletter sent to 2000-plus subscribers
- text/Logo link on PRSA Houston Web site for one month
- ability to distribute materials to all luncheon attendees
- table in room to talk with luncheon attendees before and after the event
- speaking opportunity at the luncheon (no more than 3 minutes)
- one free lunch registration at the President's table; others available at $30 member rate
- One time use of an electronically provided member list of physical addresses for all 440 PRSA Houston members.
Luncheon sponsorships do not include PR Day, for which we offer several exclusive PR Day sponsorship packages. Read more about this premiere event on the PR Day Page. Multi-event sponsorship agreements are also available.
Contact: Paula Ruth, APR, 281-870-1717
Get More for Your Membership – Submit a Business Directory Listing
Several firms have asked PRSA Houston how they can get more from their membership. Involvement in PRSA Houston is the best option, but a firm should also have a listing on the Business Directory.
Thank you Nancy Mills, APR, The Mills Agency, for becoming a new advertiser in the Business Directory. For the low price of $100 for a year, the Bayou City Public Relations name, contact information and the company’s specialties are noted on one of the top sites Googled for “public relations & Houston.” Posting your business in our online directory also helps PRSA Houston better field calls it receives asking for specific expertise.
Contact: Paula Ruth, APR, 281-870-1717
Job Hunting? Post Your Resume, Search Listings in PRSA Houston’s Job Bank
Are you a job seeker? Are you a company looking for fresh talent? Look first to PRSA Houston’s Job Bank for new PR and communications opportunities.
It’s easy an easy, free feature for members to take advantage of and a low-cost option for businesses (Only $100)! Post a position or apply for a job quickly.
PRSA Houston also has a free resume search feature in its site, where members can post their resumes for employers looking for talent. Employers may go to the same link and search the resumes posted. This is a completely free service that has been offered by PRSA Houston for more than a year. You may also sign up for a free career newsletter that tells of recent postings. Log-on to PRSA Houston’s site and add this option to your profile. 
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